Shearings to add long-haul coach tours from 2018

Shearings is to launch worldwide coach tours in 2018, including itineraries in the US, Canada, Australia, South Africa, India and Vietnam.

The programme is expected to be unveiled by early September with a standalone brochure.

The move comes as the touring specialist starts a trade campaign, called This is Shearings, and plans to share data with agent partners to help increase third-party sales.

Marketing director Steve Seddon said: “We knew our customers were going on long-haul journeys, but they were going with other operators because we didn’t offer it.”

Seddon said the trade would be pivotal to selling the worldwide tours and the company’s “more complicated European product”.

“The trade is adept at selling worldwide and long-haul, while customers are more happy booking their own trips in the UK, so we want to work with 
them more closely,” he said.

Seddon said the This is Shearings campaign would highlight to agents the operator’s price parity with its direct-sell prices and its “competitive” commission.

“The trade is mega-busy,” he added. “It would be naive of us to think agents know all our products. We’ve definitely seen an increase in trade sales since we’ve had a more open dialogue.”

To help agents sell more Shearings trips, the company has decided to share the data it has about customers.

“We are talking beyond age and demographic,” said Seddon.

“We know our customers on an emotional level – something the trade is good at – and we want the trade to be able to offer them the same personalisation as we can.”